Miwaku Kabe
The Miwaku Kabe, or the Enchanted Wall, was built in haste, not to please the eye, and surrounded the Forbidden City and the four inner districts of Otosan Uchi, the Ekohikei. It would be the inner wall of the city, when an outer wall was built to protect the rest of the districts. Rebuilding the Wall In the year 34 the Empire realized the threat posed by the Shadowlands forces during the War Against Fu Leng. Hantei ordered to tear down the Imperial Palace and walls to be rebuild and protected by the Great Clans. The Phoenix were granted the Eastern wall, outside the Kanjo district, the Crane the Southern Wall, outside the Chisei district, the Crab the Western Wall, outside the Karada district, and the Ki-Rin Clan the Nothern Wall, beyond the Hito district. In less than six years the complete wall was finished. Otosan Uchi:Book 2, pp. 5-7 The Kitsu Sodan Senzo contacted the ancestors and convinced to protect the Enchanted Wall, so those samurai who would die in the Imperial City's defense would join again the defenders in spirit form. Otosan Uchi:Book 2, p. 18 Magically protected After the Day of Thunder the forces of Fu Leng were defeated and retreated to the Shadowlands, but a single oni sneaked within the Imperial Palace. It was killed by the Imperial Guard, but not before Hantei was struck by a poisoned claw, which eventually led him to death. The Isawa placed enchantments to protect it so that tragedy would never occur again. Winter Court: Kyuden Seppun, pp. 40-41 Enhancement The walls were first tested during the Battle of Four Winds. Later, in 271, Crane Clan artisans came to the wall, and after several months the Kakita increased it's beauty, and the shugenja spent the time altering magically the walls. Otosan Uchi:Book 2, pp. 7-8 Defensive ramparts were place covering the exterior of the wall, and the sheer ascent was called "Fukorokujin's Death", because any futile attempt of climbing it would end with certain death. The wall was protected by a standing army drawn from the Lion Clan under the command of the Emerald Champion. Otosan Uchi:Book 2, pp. 18-19 It was not clear if this duty passed to the Protector of the Imperial City, a position created after the Battle of the White Stag. Secrets on the Wind - Part 1, by Rich Wulf and Shawn Carman Scorpion Coup In 1123 the wall was seized by the Scorpion Clan during the Scorpion Coup. Otosan Uchi: The Scorpion's Sting, p. 26 Second Day of Thunder In 1128 the Eastern wall collapsed after the Asahina Shugenja communed with it and told what was happening inside the city, the retrun of Fu Leng in the body of Hantei XXXIX. The North wall was taken after Tetsuya sacrificed himself to unravel Kyojin. In the South Wall Shiba Ujimitsu gave his life to kill the maddened Master of Fire Isawa Tsuke. Time of the Void, pp. 102-103 It was not known if the West wall also fell to the united Great Clans. Eastern Wall The Eastern Wall was called Homare, or Glory, and it laid in the border of the Kanjo district. The Isawa placed golden kanji on its surface naming every person who died on it, bonding their spirits. When the wall was assaulted the spirits combated the foe. The wall became a religious icon and temples rose on both sides of it. Otosan Uchi, Book 2 p. 22 * East Wall of Otosan Uchi (Scorpion Clan Coup, Scroll 1) * East Wall of Otosan Uchi Exp (Spirit Wars) Southern Wall The Southern Wall lay on the border of the Chisei district. Isawa Naigama and his pupils executed several enchantments upon the wall, being consumed in the process and swallowed by the wall. In the Battle of Four Winds an oni force assaulting the wall rntered within the wall itself, whose texture had became shadowy, and they were swallowed by an army of dopplegangers before they crossed to the inner side of the wall. After the battle there were doubts if the oni were destroyed or they were inside the wall. The Asahina became it's guardians, and installed thirteen talismans shaped as mirrors, to watch for evidences of corruption. Otosan Uchi, Book 2 p. 39 During the Scorpion Coup, the primary assault of the six clans to recover the Ekohikei was suffered by the southern wall. Otosan Uchi: The Scorpion's Sting, p. 66 * South Wall of Otosan Uchi (Scorpion Clan Coup, Scroll 1) * South Wall of Otosan Uchi Exp (Spirit Wars) Northern Wall The Northern Wall lay on the border of the Hito district. The interior of its structure was built with mazes of ambush-ready tunnels, but it was not clear if the wall had been enchanted like the others. During the Battle of Four Winds the defenders were led by Otaku Tozuken. Otosan Uchi, Book 2 pp. 58-59 * North Wall of Otosan Uchi (Scorpion Clan Coup, Scroll 2) * North Wall of Otosan Uchi Exp (Spirit Wars) Western Wall The Western Wall lay on the border of the Karada district. In the Battle of Four Winds it was attacked by a Oni Lord named Medatsu no Oni and his legions. The Kuni, masters of binding, captured them in the wall. The wall was never freed from the remains of the Shadowlands who attacked it and no one lingered near the wall for very long. Otosan Uchi, Book 2 p. 71 Tainted In 1132 the enchanment in the Western Wall was crumbled and tainted by the Shadowlands, no longer a defense for the Imperial Palace. They could do it as a aprt of his alliance with the Shadow, who held the control of the Emperor Toturi I and the Imperial City. Clan Letter to the Horde #6 (Imperial Herald v3 #4) * West Wall of Otosan Uchi (Scorpion Clan Coup, Scroll 2) * West Wall of Otosan Uchi Exp (Spirit Wars) Category:Ekohikei